People learn how we make a living, and they think they'd like to earn money in their jammies too. So they ask us if they can pick our brains. Or they want us to refer work to them because they are really good at noticing typos on restaurant menus.

Hey, we're busy! We haven't got time for all that brain-picking! And we're not going to refer work because someone finds mistakes on menus.

But here's the thing. I made a strong start in freelancing because colleagues let me pick their brains and referred work to me.